José Mourinho, André Villas-Boas, and more recently Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, Paulo Fonseca then Sergio Conceiçao at AC Milan… Portuguese coaches have a growing popularity on the most popular benches in Europe. On an obviously smaller scale, Ligue 2 is no exception to the rule. And like the recent appointment of Bruno Baltazar at the head of SM Caen, several Portuguese speakers have attempted the adventure in the French second division over the last decade.
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Luis Castro (USL Dunkerque, ongoing since 2023)
Arriving in September 2023 to replace Mathieu Chabert at the head of the Maritimes, Luis Castro needed a little time to highlight his qualities as a tactician. After a difficult first phase where the USLD essentially fought to stay alive in the race to maintain itself, the northern club surfed its return phase, easily retaining its place among the 36 best French clubs. An already remarkable achievement for the 44-year-old coach, as the affair seemed to be off to a bad start last January. Known and expected for his ability to train young talents thanks to his time with Benfica's Youth League and U23 teams, Luis Castro has been able to adapt and get the best out of a squad that has been largely reworked during the last two transfer windows, point of making Dunkirk the best team in Ligue 2 in the 2024 calendar year.
Thanks to an assertive style, characterized by high pressing and an impressive propensity to create chances, the team of the club owned by the Amissos Group today offers one of the most attractive games in the championship and is placed quite logically in the leading trio at the dawn of the 17th day. A dazzling progress made possible by a clear and well-executed strategy, intelligent investments, but also and above all by Luis Castro, his attention to detail and his unfailing standards. After a little more than a spell in Ligue 2, the Portuguese coach is gradually becoming one of the references in the championship, and the best is perhaps yet to come…
Rui Almeida (Red Star) [2015-2017]ESTAC Troyes [2018-2019]SM Caen [2019-2020]Niort [2022])
The adventure was longer, and more mixed for Rui Almeida. Today without a contract, the 55-year-old tactician has traveled through Ligue 2 at the head of four different clubs. His first love, with Red Star, allowed him to launch his career in the second division with an impressive season at the head of the Audoniens. With an encouraging 5th place and an average of 1.68 points per match which left the RSFC at the gates of Ligue 1, Rui Almeida was logically renewed for a second season of which he ultimately did not see the end. 16th at the end of the 20th day, he was sacked and finally spent his return phase on the bench of SC Bastia, in the fight to remain in L1.
A short stint in the elite of French football, then a return to the lower level, this time with ESTAC. Within a team armed to play the direct climb, the native of Lisbon had a difficult start marked by five defeats in six days. Not very exciting, but not enough to discredit him with a Trojan management which chose to keep him in his post. A profitable choice, since ESTAC subsequently found the formula and finished in 3rd place in the ranking before losing to Lens (1-2) in the second round of the play-offs. But despite a convincing first stint and one year remaining on his contract, Almeida did not stay long in Aube and headed off to Normandy.
At SM Caen just relegated to Ligue 2, a fourth defeat in a row – the fifth in 9 days – was the end of its brief adventure. Rui Almeida tried to relaunch himself within Gil Vicente's Portuguese team, without success, then returned to France for a new challenge. But in Niort, his time quickly turned sour and there again, his results did not allow him to have much time to implement his ideas. Last on the evening of the 21st day, the Chamois decided to put an end to his contract and toll the death knell for Almeida's last stint, for the moment anyway, on a French bench.
Jorge Costa (Tours, 2017) and Jorge Maciel (Valenciennes, 2023)
The two other Portuguese coaches who passed through Ligue 2 over the last decade did not last forever. On the one hand, Jorge Costa – now general manager of FC Porto – did not succeed in his rescue mission on the bench of Tours FC and left his place at the end of the 2017-2018 season.
On the other hand, Jorge Maciel started the unfortunate season of the descent into the National of the VAFC with a sad record of 11 points in 17 days. Pierre Sage's current assistant at OL notably missed the boat against Grenoble (3-3) then Caen (2-2) by conceding late equalizers which prevented him from launching a more positive dynamic, and was finally dismissed from his duties at the beginning of December 2023.
Photo Philippe Le Brech/Icon Sport
